Stanford graduate student workers vote to unionize

Stanford University graduate student workers who teach and research have unionized, the new Stanford Graduate Workers Union announced Thursday.

The National Labor Relations Board said Thursday that, “Of approximately 3,410 eligible voters, 1,639 voted for the union and 38 voted against. Parties have five business days to file objections to the election. If no objections are timely filed, the union will be certified.”

Monica Rae Vidaurri, a union member, said the union wants a closed shop.

“We’ve got 3,410 in the bargaining unit,” she said. “However, many graduate workers on fellowships were excluded from this number, so as part of our first contract negotiation we’re going to work to get as many excluded workers into the unit as possible.”

“We look forward to working in good faith with SGWU,” the university’s president and provost said in a joint statement. “As has been our position throughout the election process, we are dedicated to the success of our graduate students and to our education and research mission. These commitments will continue to guide us. We will provide information to our community about the next steps in the bargaining process as it becomes available.”

Chris Gustin, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate and international student in the applied physics department, said in a union news release, “The overwhelming margin of victory in this historic election shows that we have widespread support for our platform of better wages that keep up with the cost of living, and increased protections for graduate workers.”